1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for and a method of converting a representation of a pronunciation by means of phonetic symbols (hereinafter referred to as a phonetic transcription) of Chinese inputted from a keyboard or the like into a corresponding Chinese character to output the same, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method suitably utilized in a word processor, a work station and the like for Chinese.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chinese is represented by Chinese characters. There are several types of notation for indicating a pronunciation of a Chinese character. Typical examples include Pin Yin notation issued in 1958 by the People's Republic of China Government and Zhu Yin notation used before 1958 and used in Taiwan even at the present time.
A pronunciation of one Chinese character can be analyzed into Sheng Mu corresponding to a consonant, Yun Mu corresponding to a vowel, and Si Sheng or Sheng Diao representing tones or intonations. Yun Mu and Sheng Mu are together referred to as Sheng Yun. Some Chinese characters have toneless pronunciations. A pronunciation of one Chinese character is indicated by not more than one (one or zero) Sheng Mu and one Yun Mu (and further Sheng Diao, as required).
Sheng Diao is classified into the following four types:
Yi Sheng or 1 Sheng: it is a high tone and is flat, which is indicated by "-".
Er Sheng or 2 Sheng: it is raised from a low tone to a high tone, which is indicated by " ".
Shan Sheng or 3 Sheng: it is lowered from a high tone to a low tone and then, is raised to a high tone, which is indicated by " ".
Si Sheng or 4 Sheng: it is lowered from a high tone to a low tone, which is indicated by " ".
For example, a Chinese character " (which means China)" is represented as "Zhong Guo" in the Pin Yin notation, where "Zh" and "G" are Sheng Mu, and "ong" and "uo" are Yun Mu. In addition, a Chinese character " (which means Japan)" is represented as "RiiBen" in the Pin Yin notation, where "R" and "B" are Sheng Mu, and "i" and "en" are Yun Mu.
In the conventional word processor for Chinese, only input according to the Pin Yin notation has been allowed. The Pin Yin notation is relatively new. Accordingly, some people or generations know the Zhu Yin notation but do not know the Pin Yin notation. Consequently, an attempt to allow more people to make use of the word processor for Chinese brings about the necessity of allowing input according to the Zhu Yin notation.
Furthermore, the Pin Yin notation is provided using Pekingese as a standard language. In vast China, some languages have pronunciations different from that of Pekingese in Sheng Diao. Even Sheng Yun may, in some cases, be different from that of Pekingese from region to region. Consequently, it is difficult for people who do not know Pekingese used as a standard language or do not have a good knowledge thereof to correctly input Sheng Yun and Sheng Diao, so that an input error frequently occurs. People within the sphere of Pekingese do not necessarily pronounce Chinese while being conscious in Sheng Diao, so that they must perform input work to the word processor while remembering or thinking of Sheng Diao, thereby not only to make the input work complicated but also to make it impossible to input correct Sheng Diao in some cases.
In the conventional word processor for Chinese, only when Sheng Yun and Sheng Diao are correctly inputted a correct Chinese character corresponding thereto is outputted. Accordingly, if there is an input error, a correct Chinese character is not obtained.